QuoteReplyTopic: Donic Defplay Senso AND Classic: side by side Posted: 02/22/2012 at 1:14am

I have been hoping for quite some time that someone would do a test between these two blades side by side, but as I got tired of waiting, I figured I may as well do it myself.

The blades and rubbers I used for this review are all brand new. I apologize in advance for the poor picture quality - my camera is fairly crappy. As you can see in the pictures, the senso is in a ST handle while the classic is in FL. Both blades have a max thickness Donic Acuda S1 sponge on the forehand and long pips with 1.0 sponge on the backhand.

The first thing I noticed is the speed difference between the two blades. Both blades are similar in speed; but despite Donic's website claiming to the contrary, the classic senso is faster than the senso. The difference is rather small, but it is still noticeable. I have included a bounce test video in order to demonstrate the difference in speed.

In case anyone is unfamiliar with what I am highlighting in this video, it is the pitch of the sound made when the ball is struck. A lower sounding pitch almost always coincides with a slower blade. This statement is not entirely accurate if the rubbers are different, but in this case it holds true. As the classic is a slightly higher pitch, you should be able to understand about how much slower the senso is than the classic blade.

The classic is slightly thicker than the senso by perhaps 1mm. As someone who greatly prefers ST handles, I am a bit embarassed to admit the FL handle is much more comfortable in this case. Please keep in mind that I have very small hands, so I typically disagree with other men on what makes a handle comfortable.

The other difference between the two blades which bears mentioning is the vibration. The classic senso has a very hollow feeling to it. There is actually very little vibration in the classic version of this blade. The senso, on the other hand, has a more woody feel to it. It's difficult to articulate exactly what this means unless you know the feeling I'm talking about, but one only gets a crisp feeling in this blade with a quite forceful swing.

If there are any questions anyone would like answered, please post them here or PM me and I'll try to address them all. I hope this helps anyone looking to buy one of these two blades.

I recently acquired a Classic Senso. I was messing around with it...using inverted on each side...playing a "normal" game and I was shocked at how fast it was. (relative to it's advertised speed rating)

It has a great feel.

My chopping skills are rudimentary at best. I've considered using the blade as a permanent "all around" and phase in the chopping on a gradual basis. In fact the only thing stopping me is having to buy new rubber to accommodate it's head size.

@ roar: Nice of you to take the time to post. As you are aware, trying to find info on the differences in these blades is almost non existent.

I love the Defplay Senso... It's my favorite blade by far. With Defplay Senso is easier for me to spin the ball heavily from mid to far distance. OTOH, Defplay Classic Senso offers better impact absorption. In other words, Defplay Senso is better suited for a chopping and looping game, but Defplay Classic Senso is easier to play a pure chopping game.

China's Wu Yang, Fan Ying and Wang Wei all use Defplay Senso instead of Defplay Classic Senso, because it's better built for looping than the Classic version.

Wov man, this is exactly the topic I was looking for. Could you say something about the playing characteristics of the blades. Chopping close resp. far from the table, looping, smashing, sping etc, ?

First off, both paddles are quite nice. I think either one would suit a modern defensive player. As for various shots, these are both slow defensive paddles and therefore are fully capable of performing defensive play. The only comment I really want to make in this regard is that both paddles feel very controlled with a 1.0 long pip sponge for someone like myself who is used to chopping with an OX sponge on a MPS and MPA.

The only noticeable difference I have found thus far which really does merit a comment is that the classic senso is better for attacking. The standard senso seems to be more dead feeling than the classic, although I will be experimenting with different rubbers to try and remedy this problem. The classic does not have this problem and feels quite nice with the Acuda S1.

I personally think that if Wang Xi is using a standard defplay senso with Acuda S1, then he must be boosting in some way. This setup just feels way too dead.

After replacing the Acuda S1 with a sheet of 1.9 T05, it feels slightly better. I would still like something a bit faster for my forehand. Has anyone found any forehand rubbers that feel particularly good with a standard (not classic) senso?

The only noticeable difference I have found thus far which really does merit a comment is that the classic senso is better for attacking. The standard senso seems to be more dead feeling than the classic, although I will be experimenting with different rubbers to try and remedy this problem. The classic does not have this problem and feels quite nice with the Acuda S1.

I personally think that if Wang Xi is using a standard defplay senso with Acuda S1, then he must be boosting in some way. This setup just feels way too dead.

Defplay Senso (not classic) is a highly flexible looping blade with the same construction as Donic's other looping blades. You'll need to actively incorporate its flex in your attacking strokes to get maximum spin and speed... When you are looping, driving or attacking you'll need to apply extra pressure on the ball to feel the blade "bend" backwards, and then release the flex forwards as you finish the stroke. To effectively introduce flex, your ring and pinky fingers need to apply more pressure on the handle than with rigid blades. This flex is also very useful to produce extra heavy chops.

i have tried other def blades # but the defplay senso imparts more spin on the ball both on loop and chop strokes,rainbow arc loops,heavy backspin chops the transition between the 2 strokes is the best i have found ,also surprisingly good for block unusual for a high flex blade,the blade loops well with thinner sponged rubbers which helps with the chopping strokes when you need them,1.7 or 1.9 is the ideal sponge thickness for me

Hey roar, You used to have a Bty InnerShield, it Looks like that Innershield is a highdwell flex blade...How can u compare Innershield and defplay??

thanks

Sure. The innershield is thinner and significantly slower than the defplay. I would never believe it without hitting with it myself, but even with those zylon plies, the innershield is the slowest blade I've hit with other than a hock. The innershield is also more flex-feeling than the defplay. The innershield is also lighter and has a larger sweet spot than the senso.

They're very similar blades, but the innershield is just sooooo slow - great control blade, but way too expensive for what it is.

what about the weight of classic senso and senso. Theoretically the new senso should be about 85g and the classic senso about 70. Could you tell me something about rubber combinations on each blades and their balances?

what about the weight of classic senso and senso. Theoretically the new senso should be about 85g and the classic senso about 70. Could you tell me something about rubber combinations on each blades and their balance?

I'm not sure I know exactly what you mean. I asked for the lightest senso and the heaviest classic senso, and they feel about the same with the rubbers attached. As I said above, they both have max thickness Donic Acuda S1 on the forehand side a 1.0 long pips on the backhand.

They both feel very head heavy since they have hollowed out handles - does that answer your question?

Yes, I wanted to know which blade felt less head-heavy. This head-heaviness is a known "problem" with the senso technology. Maybe you can glue some weight for instance a coin at the end of the handle in order to have better balance. I try to figure out how to balance the blade by adding weight to the handle and not to change the rubbers.

Hmm, I use the same blade and work at a hardware store, so I might be able to figure out something similar to do with mine since I added thicker forehand rubber, though I still have ox pips on the back.

I just received my Defplay Senso ST last week. My first impression is that the blade thin and it look like it is only 3 ply. It looked like it would make a great hard bat blade. I put Reflectoid 1.5mm on both sides. I have always been a Reflectoid fan. The blade does loop well and with Reflectoid on it is a natural for blocking, chop blocking and pushing. After a few hours of practice I could chop from about 10 ft, 3m, back 3 or 4 times in a row. I am not a chopper and don't intend to be one but I play for the exercise and chopping and looping the chops is great exercise. Looping back chopped balls is easy too.

Hitting slow loops is easy because of the flex. The 1.5mm Reflectoid seems to bottom out on the FH when looping hard unless I brush and then too much energy goes into spin and not enough speed. Slow spinny loops, yes, fast spinny loops no, at least not with Reflectoid. I put Reflectoid on the FH because I wanted to chop with the FH too. I put Reflectoid on the BH because I am familiar with it. I have 755 0X and 388D-1 0.6mm ready.

I started to play TT again 3 years ago after a 38 year break. The first custom paddle I bought was a TBS+2xT05 and that was a mistake. I should have bought a Defplay Senso with Reflectoid. The Reflectoid is slow but not that slow and I think it makes a great starter rubber.

BTW, I thought about buying a Hunter Hawk but the Defplay got so many good reviews and the Hawk got so many complaints about being fragile that it was a no brainer.

I just received my Defplay Senso ST last week. My first impression is that the blade thin and it look like it is only 3 ply. It looked like it would make a great hard bat blade. I put Reflectoid 1.5mm on both sides. I have always been a Reflectoid fan. The blade does loop well and with Reflectoid on it is a natural for blocking, chop blocking and pushing. After a few hours of practice I could chop from about 10 ft, 3m, back 3 or 4 times in a row. I am not a chopper and don't intend to be one but I play for the exercise and chopping and looping the chops is great exercise. Looping back chopped balls is easy too.

Hitting slow loops is easy because of the flex. The 1.5mm Reflectoid seems to bottom out on the FH when looping hard unless I brush and then too much energy goes into spin and not enough speed. Slow spinny loops, yes, fast spinny loops no, at least not with Reflectoid. I put Reflectoid on the FH because I wanted to chop with the FH too. I put Reflectoid on the BH because I am familiar with it. I have 755 0X and 388D-1 0.6mm ready.

I started to play TT again 3 years ago after a 38 year break. The first custom paddle I bought was a TBS+2xT05 and that was a mistake. I should have bought a Defplay Senso with Reflectoid. The Reflectoid is slow but not that slow and I think it makes a great starter rubber.

BTW, I thought about buying a Hunter Hawk but the Defplay got so many good reviews and the Hawk got so many complaints about being fragile that it was a no brainer.

Buy a victas off matshushita and put t05 1,9 (red) in fh and curl p1 ox in bh.This is the monster set up. At first the ox seems a little hard. After training some time it is perfect. Can do it all. A deadly weapon.

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